Carlton Academy

Year 11 Revision
We want you to take a break and a lovely time over the Christmas break but sorry to
say this (you’re probably not going to like it) this needs to be the one Christmas when
you don’t treat the whole break as a holiday. Your summer exams seem a long time
away- they aren’t. When you get back to school in January you will only have 16 weeks,
that’s just 77 school days before your first written GCSE exams! Trust me, that time will
fly so it is really important that you start your revision early and start it properly. Below
you will find some tips to get you off to a flying start and build towards a successful
summer!
Make sure your revision has TARGETS:
Timetable: make a revision timetable. Plan your revision time. Allow more time for
subjects with more to revise. Schedule in breaks and plan some time off!
Active: revision needs to be active. Don’t just read your revision guide or notes. You
need to be doing something active like make summaries, flash cards or mind maps
Resources: take revision resources home with you. There are copies of resources in the
open area- take what you need
Guidance: get guidance from your teachers before the holiday. Ask your teachers which
topics pupils usually find difficult and that are common on exams.
Experiment: with different revision techniques. Now is the time to find out which work
best for you.
Topics: divide subjects up in to topics. For example, rather than revising Science, which
is a big subject, need to revise a specific topic eg. photosynthesis
Social: networking and games; give your phone to someone to look after whilst you
revise. Save social networking and games for your breaks and time off.
Below are some different revision techniques that you might want to try.
1.Making flash cards; with facts on or questions on one side and answers on the other
so that friends and family can test you.
2.Red pen, black pen; look at the information and set a time limit to remember as much
as you can. Then write down everything you can remember in black pen. Add what
you couldn’t remember in red. Target only these areas when memorising for a second
time- write up the information.
3.Organise your notes; try organising the information you are revising in different ways
such as the A5 revision card or fishbone diagram from the open area.
4.Try the Roman Rooms method for memorising facts; Search ‘Andi bell explains the
link method memory technique’ in youtube and watch the first video for how to do this.
5.Use mnemonics (words or sentences) to help you to remember facts, sequences and
keywords eg. ‘Richard of York gave battle in vain’ for the colours of the rainbow or ‘1
collar, 2 sleeves’ to remember that there is 1 c and 2s’ in necessary.